M. Carta

Some Features of Spatial Neutron Kinetics for Multiplying Systems

Abstract The paper considers some physical aspects of the neutron space kinetics of critical and source-driven subcritical systems. The possibility of introducing some indicators to qualify the spatial nature of neutronic transients is investigated. It is shown theoretically and then proved by numerical examples that the separation of the eigenvalues of the mathematical operator defining the problem can be taken as a good indicator of the importance of space effects in time-dependent conditions. To obtain good physical insight into the phenomena, paradigmatically simple configurations are considered, and whenever possible, a fully analytical approach is used. The presented results evidence the limits of applicability of classic simplified models for transient analyses, such as point kinetics. In a second part, the paper considers the open problem of the choice of the weighting function to be used either for the generation of the kinetic parameters of pointlike models or for the exploitation of quasi-static procedures, analyzing comparatively the effect of different options on the results of transient calculations.

Global Results from Deterministic and Stochastic Analysis of the MUSE-4 Experiments on the Neutronics of Accelerator-Driven Systems

Abstract The MUSE-4 program is a series of zero-power experiments carried out at the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique Cadarache MASURCA nuclear facility from 2001 to 2004 to study the neutronics of accelerator-driven systems (ADSs). The program has investigated the coupling of a multiplying medium to neutron sources of 2.6 or 14 MeV provided by an accelerator (GENEPI) via D(d,n)3He or T(d,n)4He nuclear fusion reactions, respectively. The fuel was UO2-PuO2, the simulated coolant was sodium or lead, and the multiplication factor keff ranged from 1 to 0.95. The aim of the experiment was to develop new measurement techniques specific to ADSs and to test the performances of neutronic calculations codes for such systems. The interpretation of the MUSE-4 experiment has shown that the physical parameters of the system are globally well reproduced by calculations performed with the ERANOS code system, which proves good agreement with both the measurements and the reference Monte Carlo calculations; this concerns the critical mass, the delayed neutron fraction, the fission rate shapes, and the spectral indices. This is a particularly remarkable issue for ERANOS and its associated libraries, which had never been tested for such situations. Concerning the nuclear data, JEF-based cross sections provide a better agreement on critical mass than other libraries. A sensitivity of several measured parameters to the elastic and inelastic cross section of lead have been demonstrated, and possible biases on these cross sections have been indicated. We have shown that several methods based on deterministic or stochastic calculations allow us to relate the experimental neutron population decay after a source pulse with the reactivity of the system; these reactivity determination techniques are in good agreement with standard reactivity measurement techniques.

Application of the multipoint method to the kinetics of accelerator-driven systems

Abstract The mathematical foundations of the multipoint method are illustrated and the method is developed for the neutron kinetics of multiplying systems to treat physical situations in which spatial and spectral effects can play an important role in transient conditions, and hence the classical point-kinetic model can become inadequate. In the present paper the method is specifically developed for source-driven systems, through a proper adaptation of the factorization-projection technique used to derive other classic kinetic models. The results presented for some test cases show the advantages that can be attained with respect to the standard point model, even when treating relevant spatial and spectral transients. It is then shown how the technique can be inserted into a quasi-static framework.

Neutronic Analyses of the Trade Demonstration Facility

Abstract The TRiga Accelerator-Driven Experiment (TRADE), to be performed in the TRIGA reactor of the ENEA-Casaccia Centre in Italy, consists of the coupling of an external proton accelerator to a target to be installed in the central channel of the reactor scrammed to subcriticality. This pilot experiment, aimed at a global demonstration of the accelerator-driven system concept, is based on an original idea of C. Rubbia. The present paper reports the results of some neutronic analyses focused on the feasibility of TRADE. Results show that all relevant experiments (at different power levels in a wide range of subcriticalities) can be carried out with relatively limited modifications to the present TRIGA reactor.

Control Rod Heterogeneity Effects in Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactors: Method Developments and Experimental Validation

The control rod worth assessment in a large liquid-metal fast breeder reactor is strongly dependent on the actual arrangement of the absorber pins inside the control rod subassemblies. The so-called heterogeneity effects (i.e., the effects on the rod reactivity of the actual rod internal geometry versus homogenization of the absorber atoms over all the subassembly volume) have been evaluated, using explicit and variational methods to derive appropriate cross sections. An experimental program performed at the MASURCA facility has been used to validate these methods.

Kinetic parameters of the GUINEVERE reference configuration in VENUS-F reactor obtained from a pile noise experiment using Rossi and Feynman methods

A pile noise measurement campaign has been conducted by the CEA in the VENUS-F reactor (SCK-CEN, Mol Belgium) in April 2011 in the reference critical configuration of the GUINEVERE experimental program. The experimental setup made it possible to estimate the core kinetic parameters: the prompt neutron decay constant, the delayed neutron fraction and the generation time. A precise assessment of these constants is of prime importance. In particular, the effective delayed neutron fraction is used to normalize and compare calculated reactivities of different subcritical configurations, obtained by modifying either the core layout or the control rods position, with experimental ones deduced from the analysis of measurements. This paper presents results obtained with a CEA-developed time stamping acquisition system. Data were analyzed using Rossi-a and Feynman-a methods. Results were normalized to reactor power using a calibrated fission chamber with a deposit of Np-237. Calculated factors were necessary to the analysis: the Diven factor was computed by the ENEA (Italy) and the power calibration factor by the CNRS/IN2P3/LPC Caen. Results deduced with both methods are consistent with respect to calculated quantities. Recommended values are given by the Rossi-a estimator, that was found to be the most robust. The neutron generation time was found equal to 0.448 ± 0.012 μs and the effective delayed neutron fraction is 770.3 ± 19 pcm. Discrepancies with the calculated value (722 pcm, calculation from ENEA) are satisfactory: -6.3% for the Rossi-a estimate and -2.7% for the Feynman-a estimate.

A Simple Calculation of Control Assembly Effectiveness in a Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactor by a Transport-Diffusion Equivalence Method

A simple method to calculate the effectiveness of the control assembly in a fast neutron reactor is proposed. For each type of heterogeneous assembly (control or follower), a polar parameter, takin...

Power reactor and critical experiment heterogeneity effects assessment for bias factors definition

Heterogeneity effects are compared in a power reactor subassembly of the Superphenix type and in the lattices of the critical experiments performed in the Masurca critical facility. Both the fuel in heterogeneity and the structure tube heterogeneity are evaluated with a two-step method based on the subgroup technique for self-shielding effect evaluation and on the Benoist method for streaming effect evaluation (the DHARMA method). Besides validation with reference calculations for simple geometries, experimental evidence confirms the good performance of the method proposed.